How to Sew Beads onto a Dress

Contributing WriterUpdated March 21, 2017

Sewing beads can be a beneficial activity that illuminates your dresses. You can sew beads on almost any parts of a dress to give it both charm and style. A dress can be accented by sewing beads onto the sleeves, waist, chest or along the bottom. You should make sure the dress you're sewing is made of a material that can be sewn on and won't be damaged.

Pick a bead pattern. Choose which pattern you'd like as well as where you'd like it sewn onto your dress. You can choose beads or sequins in shapes like stars, squares, circles or diamonds. Make sure that the beads or sequins have holes in them, so you can sew them onto the dress.

Put your needle through the underside of your dress before you put the beads on. Once the needle is straight up and the thread is all the way up through the dress, put two or three beads down onto the needle to begin your pattern.

Bring the needle back down directly where the third bead ends. This will enable you to tie your threads at the end. When you're done taking the needle back down, cut off the end of the thread and tie it to the end of the thread you began on the underside of the dress.

Repeat Steps One, Two and Three until you are comfortable with your pattern. Make sure, before you begin adding more beads at a time, that you are comfortable with your pattern. If you go too fast and make a mistake, it will be very difficult to go back and change it.

Test your sewing by pulling the dress up into a sitting position. Tug very lightly on the beads to make sure that they will not slip off. Obviously, you do not want to pull so hard that you unravel your work. You might also want to pull the dress over something such as a pillow to make sure the beads won't come off when you put it on.

Warning

Sew slowly and gently, as dress fabric is typically very delicate. You want to take care not to snag or tear it. Remove all rings or bracelets from your hands and even to make sure that your fingernails are short and even, before you begin.

Things You'll Need

Dress

Beads

Needle

Thread to match the dress

Scissors

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